Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Theses and Honors Research Theseshttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/134

2015-08-02T18:28:40ZBlood Pressure, Glycemia, and Body Habitus among a sample of African Americans in Central Ohiohttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/71255
Blood Pressure, Glycemia, and Body Habitus among a sample of African Americans in Central Ohio
Block, Dov A.
Chronic degenerative conditions increase as physiological function declines over the life span. Today, coronary artery and cerebrovascular diseases, malignant neoplasms, and noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus are leading causes of morbidity and mortality across affluent and underdeveloped societies. Elevated blood pressure, plasma glucose, and body mass index (BMI) are risk factors for these outcomes. In the USA, African Americans show more cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and obesity than European Americans. One reason for such disparities may be physiological differences, while others may include sociocultural differences. To explore these influences, we examine blood pressure, glycemia, fat patterning, and body habitus among a sample of 114 older middle-class African Americans residing in Central Ohio during 1995. Our results indicate that BMI and waist/hip ratio positively associated with elevated post-load glucose. Additionally, elevated post-load glucose was significantly associated with upper arm circumference and triceps, subscapular and suprailiac skinfolds. Subscapular skinfolds and abdominal depth were significantly associated with elevated fasting glucose. Abdominal depth predicted both elevated fasting and post-load glucose as well as systolic hypertension. SBP predicted elevated fasting and post-load glucose in our sample. However, no measured variable was significantly related to diastolic hypertension. Our participants represent middle-class African Americans residing in Central Ohio. Their fasting glucose, two-hour post-load glucose, BMI, and wait-hip ratio are above cut-points suggesting diabetes and obesity. These results support the conclusion that such risk factors affect those of higher socioeconomic status as well as the more commonly portrayed poorer classes of African Americans.
2015-08-01T00:00:00ZBlock, Dov A.The influence of parity, pups, and gestational stress on cognitive flexibility during the postpartum period.http://hdl.handle.net/1811/71199
The influence of parity, pups, and gestational stress on cognitive flexibility during the postpartum period.
Nealer, Connor
Females of all mammalian species undergo fundamental behavioral changes during pregnancy and motherhood that are focused primarily on the care of offspring. Pregnancy and motherhood can also affect cognitive behaviors, particularly on hippocampal-dependent tasks assessing spatial learning and memory. However, little has been done to study the medial prefrontal cortex, the brain region responsible for maternal care and cognitive flexibility. In this study, we investigate the effects that multiple births, the removal of pups, and chronic stress during pregnancy have on cognitive flexibility during the postpartum period, as each of these factors are known to affect cognitive function in other brain regions. The postpartum period is a time when the survival and well-being of the offspring critically depends on the mother's ability to attend to her infant's needs which in turn requires that she be able to easily shift her attention depending on situational demands and adapt her behaviors accordingly. Studies have shown that mother rats who perform better on attentional tasks better mothers overall. Thus, the impact of gestational stress, multiple parities, and mother-pup interactions may not only influence the cognitive function of the mother, but also her ability to provide care for her offspring.
2015-08-01T00:00:00ZNealer, ConnorThe role of euphemisms in language comprehension: The taboo topic of rapehttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/71198
The role of euphemisms in language comprehension: The taboo topic of rape
Neal, Ashley A.
The present study examined effects of euphemisms on language comprehension. Participants (N=316) completed an online survey and were asked to read a scenario depicting rape and answer questions regarding their interpretations of the scenarios and their attitudes about the speaker. The scenarios varied only in the target word used (i.e., rape; sexual assault; forced himself), the placement of the target word (beginning of passage; end of passage), and the point of view of the speaker (victim; lawyer). No significant effects were found of the target word used or placement of the word on participants’ responses. However, a significant effect of speaker was found on the dependent variables, with the victim point of view conditions eliciting higher ratings of the reliability, trustworthiness, and credibility of the speaker, and how strongly the speaker seemed to feel to participants than the lawyer point of view conditions. Language does not have as much of an influence on cognition as predicted, however, this study did provide evidence that who is reporting affects audiences’ judgments.
2015-08-01T00:00:00ZNeal, Ashley A.Borrowing, Avoidance, and the Development of the Zulu Click Inventoryhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/71169
Borrowing, Avoidance, and the Development of the Zulu Click Inventory
Hessler, Coleman
The Zulu language of eastern South Africa is remarkable both for being one of the few languages known to have incorporated lingual-ingressive “click” sounds into its phonology through language contact, and for the unusually thorough and comprehensive nature of this incorporation, which has been noted by scholars at least since the 19th century (Döhne 1857). To help explain this, Herbert (1990a) proposes that isihlonipho, a sociolinguistic avoidance custom which the Zulu people have in common with neighboring Bantu peoples, played a decisive role in the integration of clicks into these languages. To date, however, the question of the structure of the click inventories which this integration produced – that is, why Bantu “click languages” utilize certain clicks and not others – has not been addressed. This is particularly worthy of consideration in light of the fact that these Bantu click inventories do not resemble phonetically the click inventories of the southern African non-Bantu (SANB) languages from which they are supposed to have “borrowed” their clicks (Beach 1938:82-88). This thesis takes up the question of the Zulu click inventory’s structure through a consideration of the synchronic processes, isihlonipho and word borrowing, which are believed to have historically contributed to the integration of clicks into Zulu. I conclude that the Zulu click inventory should be seen as emergent within Zulu from the parallel operation of these processes, and not as “borrowed” as one unit from SANB languages. I also propose a new characterization of the isihlonipho process counter to its traditional analysis as “consonant replacement,” and discuss the implications of this study for the understanding of isihlonipho as a historical phenomenon.
2015-08-01T00:00:00ZHessler, ColemanEscalating levels of glyphosate resistance in Iowa populations of Conyza canadensis (horseweed): implications for fitness effectshttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/70432
Escalating levels of glyphosate resistance in Iowa populations of Conyza canadensis (horseweed): implications for fitness effects
Ernst, Emily
Glyphosate, sold as RoundUp, is the most commonly used herbicide worldwide and more than 30 weed species have evolved resistance to it. In Conyza canadensis (horseweed or marestail), glyphosate resistance was first reported in 2000 in Delaware, while Iowa has only seen resistance since 2011. The goals of this experiment were to 1) test for habitat differences in the level of glyphosate resistance, and 2) test for differences in fitness traits (rosette size and biomass) between susceptible and resistant biotypes in Iowa. I hypothesized that greater levels of glyphosate resistance would be found in agricultural populations than non-agricultural, and that resistance would not be associated with slower growth. Seeds were collected from 28 populations in 2013, with one maternal line (biotype) per population, representing 14 biotypes from soybean fields and 14 biotypes from non-agricultural habitats (e.g., roadsides, parks, etc.). Seedlings were grown in a greenhouse and sprayed with glyphosate after six weeks using three dosages: 1X (= 0.84 kg ae glyphosate/ha), 8X, and 20X, with 0X as a control. With 24 plants in each dosage treatment, per cohort, biotypes with at least 80% survival at each dosage were designated as “resistant” (1X), “highly resistant” (8X), or “extremely resistant” (20X), respectively. I found that 93% of non-agricultural biotypes and one agricultural biotype were susceptible at 1X. Also, 36% of agricultural biotypes were extremely resistant compared to none from non-agricultural habitats, confirming my first hypothesis. Differences in rosette size between susceptible vs. resistant biotypes were significant (p < 0.0001), resulting in larger resistant plants, and differences in biomass were not significant. My results suggest that glyphosate resistance is likely to persist and may increase in frequency and strength if selection pressures from glyphosate applications continue and if seeds of resistant biotypes disperse into non-agricultural areas. Worldwide, the spread of glyphosate-resistant weeds is causing growers to use herbicide mixtures that include other modes of action.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZErnst, EmilyExperimental Approach to Effective Implementation of Non-Compete Agreementshttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/70326
Experimental Approach to Effective Implementation of Non-Compete Agreements
Ikudo, Akina
Although Non-Compete Agreements (NCAs) are widely used in employment contracts to prevent
ex-employees from competing against their former employers, theoretical models and empirical studies
have struggled to quantify their impact on the labor market. To study the effects of NCA enforcement
policies on matching and separating decisions of firms and workers, a laboratory experiment was
designed and conducted. The behaviors of economic agents and their impact on economic performance
were compared under three policies: (1) firms were prohibited from using NCAs; (2) firms could impose
NCAs after workers accepted a job offer and without prior disclosure; and (3) firms were required to
disclose NCA requirements in the job offer. Under the prohibition of NCAs, the workers engaged in
opportunistic behaviors and frequently changed employers in pursuit of better compensation.
Consequently, the firms faced significant turnover costs. On the contrary, when NCAs were imposed on
the workers without prior disclosure, firms tended to use unnecessary NCAs. In result, the workers
suffered from decreased economic return. Mandatory ex-ante disclosure of NCA requirements overcame
the shortcomings of the two extreme NCA policies: it provided the firms with the means to mitigate the
investment risk while allowing the potential employees to impel firms to use NCAs only when necessary.
If the NCA policy has comparable effects on the matching and separating decisions of workers and firms
in the real world, the optimal NCA usage can be achieved through self-correcting markets. Mandatory
ex-ante disclosure of NCA requirements is a potential solution to the struggles faced by states of
maintaining and enforcing convoluted statutes regarding NCAs. It can also save significant amounts of
time and money currently lost in litigation.
Denman Undergraduate Research Forum Social and Behavioral Sciences: 3rd Place
2015-08-01T00:00:00ZIkudo, AkinaChinese Expansion and Global Economic Governance: Implications for the International Economic Systemhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69707
Chinese Expansion and Global Economic Governance: Implications for the International Economic System
Lefler-Moore, Ryan
The unprecedented economic development of China has the potential to drastically alter the international system as we know it. The current global economic order no longer reflects the underlying distribution of power: the United States and the West have declined relative to China and the Rest. Global economic governance (the set of international institutions and norms) relies on the support of most (if not all) major powers. How China's rise will affect these structures is thus a cause for concern. This paper posits four different conceivable worlds, and attempts to examine the ramifications each will have on global economic governance. Drawing heavily on the works of Daniel Drezner, Jonathan Kirshner, and offensive realist theory, this paper finds that, while intentions remain unknowable, there are contemporary indicators upon which scholars can examine future developments.
Won the Henry R. Spencer Award from the Department of Political Science; Won "Outstanding Paper" award from the 12th Annual All Politics is Local conference
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZLefler-Moore, RyanUnderstanding How bus-1 is Regulated at the Molecular Levelhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69427
Understanding How bus-1 is Regulated at the Molecular Level
Sawyer, Zamon
The nematode species Caenorhabditis elegans is especially suitable for studying a range of genetic and biological questions. Here, we have used C. elegans to study host/pathogen interactions. Screens of the C. elegans genome have revealed bus-1 as a gene whose product affects the nematode’s sensitivity to the bacterial pathogen Microbacterium nematophilum (Gravato-Nobre and Hodgkin, 2006). Mutations in bus-1 prevent M. nematophilum attachment and subsequent post-anal swelling in C. elegans. We aim to learn how bus-1 is regulated at the molecular level by transcription factor EGL-38 to influence expression of phenotypes in the anal region. In 2013, a colleague Benjamin Kaumeyer made a bus-1 reporter construct to determine its expression pattern. This was done by cloning a 1500 base pair fragment of DNA located 5’ to the start of the bus-1 gene into a GFP reporter. We have conducted a deletion analysis of Kaumeyer’s construct by removing four DNA fragments of various lengths upstream of the bus-1 gene to learn what region of the bus-1 promoter is regulated by EGL-38. The deletion clones were purified and injected into worms to reveal a 274 nucleotide potential EGL-38 binding site on bus-1.
Pelotonia Undergraduate Fellowship
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZSawyer, ZamonMonsoon Variations During the Last 171,000 Years as Interpreted from Terrigenous Sediments at ODP Site 723 Western Arabian Seahttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69261
Monsoon Variations During the Last 171,000 Years as Interpreted from Terrigenous Sediments at ODP Site 723 Western Arabian Sea
Ricketts, Richard Douglas
The bulk mineralogy of the terrigenous component in 65 samples from ODP Site 723, on the Oman margin, has been determined by x-ray diffraction, using an internal standard method. A detailed mineralogical record of the terrigenous input over the past 171 ky was developed from this data. Previous studies have identified important continental sediment source areas and the minerals derived from each source. Previous studies have also demonstrated that most of this terrigenous material is supplied by the southwest summer monsoon and associated northwest winds. Terrestrial records indicate increased aridity during glacial intervals and increased humidity during interglacial intervals. The
mineralogical data generated by this study was used to investigate variations in source area weathering conditions and transport regimes during these climatic changes. Terrigenous minerals present include smectite, palygorskite, illite, quartz, plagioclase, chlorite, and dolomite, which is consistent with source areas presently supplying sediments to the Arabian Sea. An R-mode principal component analysis identified three mineral assemblages
present throughout the past 171 ky: smectite/dolomite (Factor 1), quartz/plagioclase (Factor 2), and palygorskite/illite (Factor 3). Plagioclase, palygorskite, and illite are very susceptible to chemical weathering and therefore Factors 2 and 3 are interpreted to indicate changes in aridity or changes in importance of eolian transport. Smectite is formed during chemical weathering
and dolomite is reduced in grain size by chemical weathering. Factor 1 indicates more humid source conditions and also the importance of source areas directly onshore from Site 723.
Time-series of scores for the three factors indicate both short and long term variability, and do not correlate well to the expected fluctuations in climate predicted by glacial/interglacial intervals. This suggests that local climate shifts were more complex than a simple shift from arid to humid, and that mineral assemblages did not adjust immediately to shifts in climate.
1991-06-01T00:00:00ZRicketts, Richard DouglasThe Effect of Turbidity on the Solar Resetting of the Luminescence Signal: Implications for Luminescence Geochronologyhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69260
The Effect of Turbidity on the Solar Resetting of the Luminescence Signal: Implications for Luminescence Geochronology
Lepper, Kenneth Errol
Quantitative determinations of the effect of sediment concentration on the extent of solar resetting of the luminescence signal within suspended sediments in a laboratory simulation of a turbid water system are made using thermoluminescence [TL], infrared stimulated luminescence [IRSL], and red stimulated luminescence [RedSL]. The results show a general, but non-linear, increase in residual luminescence with increasing suspended sediment concentration for TL, IRSL, and RedSL. Results of this investigation demonstrate flocculation to be a significant process contributing to residual luminescence in waterlain sediments. The results of the investigation question the reliability of TL to provide accurate age determinations for waterlain sediments, and indicate IRSL may be applicable to date
sediments deposited in low concentrations (≤10 mg/L), but
offers no significant advantages over TL for dating sediments
deposited in higher concentrations. Comparison of the TL, IRSL and RedSL data shows the RedSL signal to be the most sensitive of the three to solar resetting through turbid water and highlights the future utility of red stimulated luminescence to date a wide range of waterlain sediments.
1995-03-01T00:00:00ZLepper, Kenneth ErrolInvestigation of a Linear Gravity and Magnetic Anomaly in Northwestern Ohio and East-Central Indianahttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69259
Investigation of a Linear Gravity and Magnetic Anomaly in Northwestern Ohio and East-Central Indiana
Reynolds, Chad A.
Geophysical investigations indicate that the source of a large, linear gravity and magnetic anomaly extending from east-central Indiana through northwestern Ohio may be an intrusive mafic dike or dike complex, that intruded the basement rocks of the region along preexisting fractures or faults. Geophysical modeling suggests that the source of the anomaly may be between 1000 meters and 3500 meters below the land surface and dipping to the southeast at between 35 degrees and 71 degrees. Modeling has also suggested that the density of the body is approximately 2.8g/cc and its effective magnetic susceptibility contrast is approximately 2596 x 106 cgs. Gravity and magnetic anomaly data indicate apparent left-lateral offset possibly due to left-lateral
movement in the basement rocks prior to intrusion, or left-lateral strike-slip faulting that occurred after emplacement of the body. The dike complex also appears to be related to hydrocarbon accumulations in the overlying Trenton Limestone in Indiana, Ohio, and the Albion-Scipio oil field of Michigan.
1995-06-01T00:00:00ZReynolds, Chad A.Oxygen Fugacities of Lavas from the Galapagos Islands and the Galapagos Spreading Centerhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69258
Oxygen Fugacities of Lavas from the Galapagos Islands and the Galapagos Spreading Center
Rilling, Sarah E.
Oxygen fugacity is one of the most important intensive variables that controls the phase relations and compositions of precipitating minerals. It is accepted that oxygen fugacity reflects the redox state of the mantle source region. Therefore oxygen fugacities can be used to probe the mantle redox state and determine mantle heterogeneity. Plume-related magmas and mid-ocean
ridge basalts (MORB) have been shown to fall within the same range (∆FMQ = -1.305 to 0.402) suggesting source regions with similar redox states. The Galapagos Islands are a result of plume-related volcanoes and located on thin, young crust created by the nearby Galapagos Spreading Center (GSC). This study focuses on the differences between the redox state of the Galapagos plume related magmas and the nearby GSC. The Galapagos Islands show usually high iron concentrations, which should be reflected in the fO₂ values of lavas. Values of fO₂ calculated from Fe₂O₃/FeO ratios for GSC lavas ranged from ∆FMQ = -1.801 to 0.402. Values calculated from coexisting olivine and melts show
excellent agreement with a range of ∆FMQ = -1.818 to 0.069. There is reasonable correlation between oxygen fugacity and Mg, consistent with the idea of crystallization controlling oxygen
fugacity.
Oxygen fugacities were calculated from coexisting olivine and melt samples from Roca Redonda, Fernandina, and Volcan Darwin on the Galapagos Archipelago. Melt samples were based on groundmass analyses rather than glasses. The results ranged from ∆FMQ = -1.962 to -0.059, similar to values for MORB from the GSC, despite the unusually high Fe8.0 and low Si8.0
contents. The latter have been used to suggest that the island magmas are generated at greater depths than MORBs.
This study supports other work suggesting that OIB from deeper mantle sources have similar oxygen fugacities to MORB from upper mantle sources. This suggests that both sources have similar redox states, or that differences are not observed in oxygen fugacities of magmas originating from these sources. In the case of the Galapagos Islands this is surprising, given other evidence for differences in melting temperature and depth and source region composition.
2005-06-01T00:00:00ZRilling, Sarah E.Crustal Analysis of Venus from Magellan Satellite Observations at Atalanta Planitia, Beta Regio, and Thetis Regiohttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69257
Crustal Analysis of Venus from Magellan Satellite Observations at Atalanta Planitia, Beta Regio, and Thetis Regio
Leftwich, Timothy E.
As a result of NASA's Magellan satellite mission, serious questions have arisen concerning the crust of Venus. Venus is very similar to Earth in size and composition, yet different in tectonic style and internal dynamics. For example, the primary mode of heat loss appears to be hot-spot volcanism (Head et al., 1992), whereas on Earth it is plate tectonics and plate boundary volcanism. The relatively young and unmodified appearance of most Venusian craters and their largely random distribution has led some researchers to conclude that a global resurfacing event occurred between 300 to 1000 Ma (Schaber et al., 1992). The possible correlation between modified craters and low crater density with volcanically and tectonically active regions supports the notion that ongoing volcanic activity may represent the primary mode of planetary resurfacing (Phillips et al., 1992; Head et al., 1992). An alternative hypothesis suggests that perhaps volcanism is ongoing on Venus, but at a reduced rate subsequent to a global resurfacing event (Price et al., 1996). Understanding the crustal properties of the different tectonic regions, including the crustal plateaus and their relationships to cold spots and hot spots, is
important for developing meaningful models of Venusian tectonics and internal dynamics. A discrete model for the structure and properties of the Venusian crust is essential in constraining models for the tectonic and resurfacing history of Venus. In this paper, I investigate an improved quantitative method for interpreting attributes of the Venusian crust from spherical harmonic topographic and gravity models. I use spectral correlation theory to compare gravity effects of topography against free-air gravity anomalies for the tectonically disparate regions of Atalanta Planitia, Beta Regio, and Thetis Regio. For all three areas, observed free-air gravity anomaly magnitudes are
much smaller than the gravity effects modeled from topographic relief and there is strong positive correlation between free-air gravity anomalies, topography, and terrain gravity effects. Adjusting terrain gravity effects for correlated free-air gravity anomalies yield compensated effects that I use to estimate Moho relief and crustal thickness variations of the three study regions.
For Atalanta Planitia, the crust appears to be relatively thin with peripherally thickened crust associated with concentric ridge belts and tessera terrain. Crustal thickness may increase rapidly between the interior of this lowland plain and the adjacent
periphery and highlands. For Beta Regio and Thetis Regio, crustal thicknesses may approach 40 km and 50 km, respectively. Beta Regio, with its large free-air gravity anomalies and apparent structurally related terrain-decorrelated gravity component, may be a partially compensated region. The lack of anticorrelated topographic and gravity features in these disparate tectonic environments is consistent with a largely undifferentiated and dynamically supported crust, which is ubiquitously distributed over
the study regions and possibly the entire planet.
1998-06-01T00:00:00ZLeftwich, Timothy E.The Role of Pressure in the Formation of the Egersund Dolerites from SW Norway and Their Applications to Terrestrial and Martian Magmatismhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69256
The Role of Pressure in the Formation of the Egersund Dolerites from SW Norway and Their Applications to Terrestrial and Martian Magmatism
Hopkins, Thomas C.
The Egersund Dolerites intruded into southwest Norway between 600 and 700 Ma BP, in what is believed to be an extensional tectonic setting. The dikes consist of olivine tholeiites, tholeiites, and trachy basalts and are likely to have been continental flood basalt (CFB) feeder dikes. Mineralogical and chemical evidence suggest evolution at a pressure corresponding to a depth of 27-33 km with minimal fractional crystallization on ascent. This interpretation is based on a comparison of chilled margin glass and bulk rock compositions with experimental data, ratios of Al^VI /Al^IV in pyroxenes in the groundmass, a foreign gabbro rock fragment, and melt inclusions, and feldspar composition of the megacrysts, groundmass, and melt inclusions. Most continental flood basalts have undergone extensive low pressure (1 Atm) evolution before eruption, erasing chemical evidence for earlier high pressure fractionation, that occurs at the base of the crust. Low pressure evolution had little effect on the Egersund dolerite composition, and thus they represent an unique opportunity to study the early stage of evolution of CFBs. Olivine phenocrysts in the Egersund dikes contain spherical melt inclusions with an unusual Ti-rich amphibole inside called kaersutite. The occurrence of kaersutite in melt inclusions is limited to one other terrestrial cumulate, and to the SNC (shergottites, nakhlites, and the Chassigny) meteorites (presumably of Martian origin). The latter occurrence suggests that the Egersund dolerites can possibly serve as a terrestrial analog for Martian magmatism. Bulk compositions of the SN Cs were plotted on the diospside-olivine-silica triangle, and pyroxenes inside the meteorites and melt inclusions were analyzed for Al^VI /Al^IV. Bulk rock composition plots along the trend for evolution at low pressure (1 Atm), and the partitioning of Al between the VI and IV fold coordination sites suggests a low pressure of crystallization. From this, it is plausible to conclude that Martian magmatism involves large scale low pressure fractionation leading to eruption of large volumes of homogenous magma.
1996-06-01T00:00:00ZHopkins, Thomas C.Geochemistry of the Municipal Water System and of the Sandusky River at Bucyrus, Ohiohttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69255
Geochemistry of the Municipal Water System and of the Sandusky River at Bucyrus, Ohio
Fortner, Everett H., III
The Sandusky River and municipal water at Bucyrus, Ohio were sampled on 15 December 1999. The results of the analysis show that the water has been altered by both anthropogenic and natural geochemical processes. The evolution of municipal water shows increases in concentrations of Mg, Ba, Ca, K, and Na which are caused by anthropogenic processes. Elements Na, Mg, Ca, and Sr demonstrate mixing of the river water with municipal effluent. Elements Al, Fe, Ba, and K demonstrate enrichment in the river water downstream of the effluent discharge point. The enrichment of Al and Fe may be caused by groundwater whose chemical composition is directly related to the presence of a geologic contact between shale and limestone. Barium has an unknown source, but may also originate from the groundwater component. Potassium has an anomalously low concentration in the effluent compared to the river upstream of the discharge point of the effluent. Farther downstream, the K concentration of the river rises because of the apparent introduction of water from a third source of K, which may result from drainage from local farmland.
2000-06-01T00:00:00ZFortner, Everett H., IIIRNA helicase A's coordinate role with Tax and CBP/p300 in HTLV-1 biologyhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69043
RNA helicase A's coordinate role with Tax and CBP/p300 in HTLV-1 biology
Allareddy, Greeshma
Cancer is a multifaceted process and many of its hallmarks involve complex protein-protein interactions that dysregulate gene expression and involves yet-to-be understood activities of RNA helicase A (RHA), also known as DHX9. Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a causative of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL), which has no cure. The viral oncoprotein, Tax, is necessary for cell transformation and transactivates gene transcription by associating with promoter DNA, various DNA binding proteins and histone acetyltransferases CBP/p300. Using co-immunoprecipitation assays (coIPs), we observed a physical interaction between CBP, RHA and RNA polymerase II. Likewise, coIPs demonstrated the physical interaction of RHA and HTLV-1’s post-transcriptional control element (PCE), which is necessary for viral RNA translation. Thus we hypothesized that RHA is necessary for the transcriptional, as well as post-transcriptional expression of HTLV-1. RHA (DHX9) gene mutations and amplifications are cataloged in the Cancer Genome Atlas and their significance will be discussed. To test our hypothesis, HTLV-1 LTR-Luc reporter and tax expression plasmids were transfected into HEK293 and HeLa cells and Luc protein and luc RNA were quantified by immunoblot and RT-qPCR, respectively. Exogenous expression of FLAG-RHA (FLAG-RHA) increased HTLV-1 LTR-Luc activity, whereas downregulation of endogenous RHA by siRNA reduced Luc activity to basal levels. Exogenous expression of substitution mutants FLAG-RHA W339A and K417R reduced luc RNA and protein activity. We postulate the W339A mutation abrogated the necessary physical interaction between CBP, RHA and RNA polymerase II. CoIP experiments are needed to document our preliminary data indicating that RHA is necessary for CBP-dependent Tax-mediated HTLV-1 transcription, and its molecular basis is in tethering RNA polymerase II to CBP/p300 and Tax on the HTLV-1 promoter.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZAllareddy, GreeshmaEffects of In-Vehicle Background Audio on Cognitive Workload During Drivinghttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69041
Effects of In-Vehicle Background Audio on Cognitive Workload During Driving
Silveous, Katelyn
Drivers routinely perform many additional tasks while driving, such as texting, using navigation systems, etc., that can be distracting and lead to accidents and injuries. According to the Nation- al Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distraction can be visual (taking one’s eyes off the road), manual (taking one’s hands off the wheel), or cognitive (diverting attention from the task of driving). One task that does not meet these surface criteria is listening to music while driving. The impact of background audio on driving has received scant attention in the literature, and results to date are equivocal. Unal et al. (2013) found no effect on driving performance as measured by accuracy in following a lead car, while Brodsky and Slor (2013) reported that younger drivers committed more unsafe driving behaviors in the presence of loud music. It may be that effects of background music are observed only when the driver’s cognitive workload is already high, and would not be seen in simple driving maneuvers. The present study addressed this question by evaluating the effects of background music on drivers’ performance in a driving simulator while performing simultaneous secondary tasks. Twenty young adults performed an arithmetic task on passing billboards in the driving scenario and also rated the perceived urgency of auditory and visual warning signals presented during the scenario. Half of the participants listened to soft rock music, and half listened to heavy metal music, presented at four different audio levels. Results indicated no impact of music on the billboard arithmetic task, but a sys- tematic underestimation of the urgency of warnings in the heavy metal group. Driving perfor- mance analysis showed a slight tendency for increased average speed with increases in sound
level. Results suggest that the effects of background audio on driving are subtle, and are mani- fested in situations where cognitive workload is already high.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZSilveous, KatelynTranslating Beowulf: An Exploration of Form, Language, and Audience in Translating an Epic Poemhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69038
Translating Beowulf: An Exploration of Form, Language, and Audience in Translating an Epic Poem
Wlodarski, Jonathan
In my thesis, I explore the concept of translation through a series of lenses as I try to find a method of translation suitable for a general, non-academic audience. I excerpt three sections of the Old English epic poem Beowulf to translate into Modern English using a multiplicity of methods, paying attention to etymology, alliteration, conventional forms like haiku, and visual adaptation. I also translate these sections into Modern Spanish, using medieval Spanish poetic forms analogously to evoke the aesthetic of the original.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZWlodarski, JonathanVariation in Glottalization at Prosodic Boundaries in Clear and Plain Lab Speechhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69037
Variation in Glottalization at Prosodic Boundaries in Clear and Plain Lab Speech
Luthern, Erin
Previous research on glottalization shows that this voice quality occurs more frequently at prosodic boundaries than in the middle of prosodic phrases. This study investigates ten speakers’ use of glottalization at prosodic boundaries in five passages read in both clear and plain lab speech. I analyzed each syllable in every passage for its voice quality (glottalized or modal) and for its prosodic boundary strength using the ToBI system. I found that glottalization is used regularly in phrase-final syllables, and that speakers use glottalization marginally more when preceded by a prosodic boundary than when phrase-medial. I found no evidence of a significant effect of speaking style on glottalization use.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZLuthern, ErinPreparations for future and current surveyshttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69036
Preparations for future and current surveys
Zivick, Paul
The fields of astronomy and astrophysics routinely experience a cycle of planning the next generation of instruments, designing and building the instruments, before they finally go online and become available for science. However, unlike past cycles, the fields are currently poised for an unprecedented amount of data collection with the coming generation of instruments in the next decade, data on the scale of petabytes and greater. Such a high volume of data requires more intensive preparation, including
creating automated pipelines to allow for easier examination of the data and understanding what types of surveys will bear the most fruit. This project aims to provide an initial forecast for the ability of large scale voids to distinguish between models of modified
gravity as well as introduce a new method of bright source removal from data collected in the radio wavelength regime.The current leading cosmological model, known as Lambda Cold Dark Matter, successfully predicts many current observations, but slight inconsistencies have caused some to propose alternative theories that remove the need for dark energy. One such class of theories involves the modification of gravity to account for the observed apparent acceleration of the universe. In particular, we choose to examine a specific type of modification, known as f(R) gravity. In low density regions, this modification results in gravity being stronger than normal General Relativity would predict. Because of this, low density regions in the universe, known as voids, would appear to be viable areas to test for the validity of this modified gravity model. We plan to use simulations modeling planned survey volumes roughly two orders of magnitude greater than current observations provide using realistic survey conditions to examine the effect of f(R) modified gravity on void properties,
including void abundances, radial density profiles, radial velocity profiles, and void ellipticities. The other branch of the project will focus on the processing of radio interferometric observations of neutral 21cm emission from the epoch of reionization, an era of the universe’s history that holds much interest but relatively little progress has been made due to difficulties in observations.
A common problem encountered is the presence of bright foreground objects that obscure nearby objects on the plane of the sky. For high resolution observations, current methods of data processing identify bright sources, convert the data to a low-resolution mesh due to computational constraints, fit the source with an ellipse, and subtract it out. We suggest that a more
careful method is available through locally refining the bright spots using the high resolution data, avoiding the computational limitations, fitting the shape of the source, subtracting it, then de-refining the local patch to the original mesh. This will be particularly important for current instruments such as the Murchison Widefield Array and future instruments such as the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array and the Square Kilometer Array.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZZivick, Paul"A woman dressed as a man dressed as a woman": The Non-Binary Gender of Joan of Archttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69035
"A woman dressed as a man dressed as a woman": The Non-Binary Gender of Joan of Arc
Cowans, Haley
The fifteenth-century soldier/martyr/heretic Joan of Arc still captures our imagination as a feminist icon. Throughout my reading life, Joan has been a prominent figure, appearing as herself or in representational forms in fantasy bestsellers, children’s literature, and short stories. However, her gender and sexuality presentations vary greatly among these works. Often, the historical figure of Joan is simplified or altered to make the characters fit into parameters within a gender and sexuality binary, to keep the distinct categories of “male” and “female” intact. In this project, I have explored how the myriad interpretations of the historical Joan are at work in fictional portrayals of her, as well as how these figures speak to norms of heterosexual femininity. I begin by synthesizing primary and secondary sources pertaining to the historical Joan to examine how her contemporaries (and she herself) might have viewed her gender and sexuality. Using this foundation, I examine three contemporary works that contain either Joan herself or figures that represent her mythos: the popular "A Song of Ice and Fire" series by George R.R. Martin, the young adult "Protector of the Small" series by Tamora Pierce, and the short story “Joan, Jeanne, La Pucelle, Maid of Orléans” by Judy Budnitz. In different ways, Martin and Pierce’s Joan-like characters are simplifications of the historical Joan, ones that work to situate her more neatly in universes that maintain two binary categories for gender, even as their heroines move between those categories. In contrast, Budnitz’s avant-garde short story uses its narrative structure and characters to play with preconceived notions about singular identity and perception, creating a Joan story that, while fantastical, might be more authentic to her person. My work suggests that we often still apply rigid binary categories to Joan of Arc, one of our most popular feminist icons, and that by more closely examining the way that these categories work in our understanding of her, we can better understand how they work (or rather, fail) towards our understanding of ourselves.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZCowans, HaleyThe Syntax and Semantics of Definiteness in the Jordanian Bedouin Arabic Construct Statehttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/69034
The Syntax and Semantics of Definiteness in the Jordanian Bedouin Arabic Construct State
Byrne, Rebecca
The Semitic Construct State (CS) is a construction by which possessive relationships, among others, are expressed by a chain of two or more adjacent nouns. Often, the rightmost/embedded noun (the possessor) has a definite article prefixed to it, and this definiteness is frequently interpreted on the head of the CS. I examine a.) the status of the CS in Jordanian Bedouin Arabic, b.) the possible interpretations that can arise, and c.) the various analyses that have been put forth to explain this apparent definiteness spreading.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZByrne, RebeccaDistress in Screening in Primary Brain Tumors: Agreement between Patient and Caregiver Proxy Distresshttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68976
Distress in Screening in Primary Brain Tumors: Agreement between Patient and Caregiver Proxy Distress
Sycks, Kimberly
Patients with primary brain tumors represent a unique population of cancer patients because they are at an increased risk for both psychosocial distress and cognitive impairment. Although screening for distress is essential for caring for the “whole patient,” cognitive impairment may interfere with the patients’ ability to complete self-report distress screening measures. Consequently, family caregivers often complete screening questionnaires on the patients’ behalf. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the ability of caregiver proxies to accurately report patient distress and illness-related symptoms and concerns. Patient-caregiver proxy dyads (N = 78) completed The James Supportive Care Screening (SCS), a validated distress-screening tool. The SCS asks patients to endorse distress (none, mild, moderate, or severe) on items in six domains: emotional concerns, spiritual/religious concerns, health care concerns, social/practical problems, cognitive concerns, and physical symptoms. In addition to providing proxy-ratings of distress, caregivers completed measures of their own depression and caregiver burden. The neurocognitive status of the patients was also assessed. Results demonstrated moderate agreement between patient and caregiver proxy ratings of distress on the individual level, with better agreement for the physical domain and social/practical problems and weaker agreement for the emotional and cognitive domains. In addition, caregiver proxy depressive symptoms were significantly associated with greater disagreement between patient and proxy reports of distress. Results did not support that caregiver proxies were systematically over- or underestimating patient distress or that the neurocognitive functioning of the patient had an effect on patient-caregiver proxy agreement. Results suggest caregiver proxies may be relied upon to report patient distress in the case of patient inability, but healthcare providers should recognize that caregivers may be more accurate at reporting more observable sources of distress, such as physical symptoms, and less accurate when reporting personal distress, such as depression. In clinical practice, cancer care for the “whole patient” must include attending to not only the distress of the individual patient, but the patient’s caregiver as well, particularly when relying on the caregiver to be a source of support and information for the patient.
Social and Behavioral Sciences Undergraduate Research Grant 2014
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZSycks, KimberlyMindfulness and Mind-Wandering in Older Adults: Implications for Behavioral Performancehttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68974
Mindfulness and Mind-Wandering in Older Adults: Implications for Behavioral Performance
Londerée, Allison
Mind-wandering is defined as an attentional shift from the task at hand to internally generated thoughts. Although common, mind-wandering is associated with decreased performance on tasks requiring sustained attention and executive control. In juxtaposition to mind-wandering, mindfulness is characterized by attending nonjudgmentally to the present moment. Recent studies of both mindfulness disposition and mindfulness training provide evidence for associations between higher levels of mindfulness, decreased mind-wandering and improved cognitive performance. Interestingly, researchers have found that our tendency to mind wander decreases with age where as mindfulness disposition increases with age. The goal of the current study was to further examine the association between mindfulness and mind-wandering in an ageing population. Seventy-four older adults (ages 60-74) completed measures of dispositional mindfulness and mind-wandering as well as two computerized tasks: the Go/No-Go task and the word version of the Continuous Performance Task (CPT-WORD). Extending previous findings to an older adult sample, dispositional mindfulness was negatively associated with mind-wandering on both tasks. Surprisingly, mind-wandering was not significantly associated with behavioral performance on either of the tasks. Contrary to our hypotheses, dispositional mindfulness was not significantly associated with accuracy on the Go/No-Go task. Interestingly, mindfulness was positively associated with reactive, but not proactive, control on the CPT-WORD. Our results suggest that the relationship between mindfulness and mind-wandering exists in an older adult sample; however, the relationship between these two constructs and indices of cognitive control is mixed across varying tasks.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZLonderée, AllisonGender Variation in Creaky Voice and Fundamental Frequencyhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68973
Gender Variation in Creaky Voice and Fundamental Frequency
Melvin, Shannon
The current study examines creaky voice and the fundamental frequency associated with modal and creaky voicing across genders. I analyzed read speech data from five male and five female Midwestern Americans between the ages of 18 and 25. I found that female speakers use creaky voice more often than male speakers in this dialect. Additionally, the male speakers produced a much smaller difference in fundamental frequency between modal and creaky voicing than the female speakers. I suggest that the difference in fundamental frequency ranges across genders may cause creaky voice to be more perceptually salient in the speech of women than men. As a result, I propose that women use creaky voice more often than men because it is more salient in their speech and may thus more easily carry social meaning.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZMelvin, ShannonAn Eye for an Eye: ETA Terrorism and Democracy in Post-Franco Spainhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68972
An Eye for an Eye: ETA Terrorism and Democracy in Post-Franco Spain
Armstrong, Rachel
On February 6th, 1981, engineer José Maria Ryan was found in the woods. He had a bullet in his neck and a mouth full of cotton. Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) “Basque Homeland and Freedom” claimed responsibility. Three days later, 200,000 Spaniards gathered in the streets to protest ETA’s violent act. By February 13th, a suspected ETA member named José Arregui Izaguirre was tortured to death in a Madrid prison. Outraged at the government’s brutality, 110,000 protesters flocked to the streets. Spain, newly democratized in 1975, was straining under the weight of a two-decade long terrorist insurrection. While the nation endeavored to consolidate a “government by the people,” elements of the hard-fisted fascist regime remained. Instead of calming the conflict, the government countered ETA’s violence with like-minded brutality. During Spain’s six-year democratic transition, ETA attacks increased, followed by government retaliation. Early 1981 signified a breaking point. Spain’s cycle of reactionary violence was met with backlash by the population, contributing to Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez’s resignation on January 29th. A month later, right-wing Civil Guard members, nostalgic for the stability of General Franco’s authoritarian rule (1939-1975), stormed parliament in a coup attempt. The plot failed, but it highlighted the fragile state of Spanish democracy. Both ETA and the government opposed a restored dictatorship, but years of retaliatory torture, assassinations, midnight kidnappings, and secret arrests had unintentionally weakened the fledgling democracy. By the end of 1981, ETA violence plummeted. Its violent tactics had proven counterproductive in the newly democratized environment. This study examines the relationship between political structure and terrorist violence in the context of Spain’s democratic transition. Although counterintuitive, democratic governments can perpetuate terrorism through hardline counterterrorism crackdowns. As evidenced in Spain, the use of authoritarian practices by democratic states delegitimizes the government, alienates the people, and renews the terrorists’ resolve.
Placed at 2015 Denman Undergraduate Research Forum - Humanities
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZArmstrong, RachelFrom The Handmaid’s Tale to Bumped: Dystopian Fiction and American Women’s Reproductive Rightshttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68969
From The Handmaid’s Tale to Bumped: Dystopian Fiction and American Women’s Reproductive Rights
Fitch, Debra
Representing more than a generation of readers between their respective publications, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), and Megan McCafferty’s Bumped (2011), both describe dystopian societies in which women’s reproductive rights and sexual freedoms are severely compromised. Even though the target audience for each text is vastly different, the conversation about women’s rights with respect to reproduction and their lack of autonomy in exercising the choices made about their own bodies is strikingly similar. Surprisingly, this discourse has not evolved. Through textual analysis and examples from the current scholarship, this project aims to highlight the manner in which females’ roles in terms of reproduction and sexual autonomy are described in both novels. Special attention will be given to the function of religion within the context of these books to rationalize the actions taken by society. The differences in intended audience for each text, such as working female adults familiar with the feminist movement versus newly-adult females who perhaps have no immediate recollection of the struggle for women’s rights will also be examined. These differences influence the overall theme that emerges from both stories: suppression of a female’s right to reproduce and procreate as she chooses under the guise of patriotism and her duty to the state. Understanding how the objectification of women works in these texts is important in both appreciating the roles of women within our current society, and considering the potential of women to modify those roles in the future.
Honorable Mention, English Undergraduate Posters Forum at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio - Department of English April 2014
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZFitch, DebraDistribution and Ecology of Bobcats in Ohio: Inferences from Camera Trapping Datahttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68964
Distribution and Ecology of Bobcats in Ohio: Inferences from Camera Trapping Data
Doran-Myers, Darcy
The ranges of many predators have been reduced in recent history due to hunting and the expansion of human-dominated habitats. Bobcats (Lynx rufus) were extirpated from Ohio by the 1850’s, but are now returning to southeastern Ohio. The distribution and ecological effects of these recovering bobcat populations are just beginning to be investigated but little information is available on newly founded populations. In this study, remote motion-activated camera traps were used to record the presence of bobcats and other wildlife in southeastern Ohio. A total of 14 study sites were surveyed in 2008-2011 (by Dr. Suzanne Prange, ODNR) and 2014 (my survey). This resulted in 718 “trap nights” of data, over 4,000 photo captures of 23 animal species, and 91 detections of bobcats, including detections at three new sites in 2014. Using the full data set, I found that the number of bobcat detections per trap night was significantly greater at some sites than others (P <0.05), possibly due to land use or prey abundance differences between sites. I also tested for associations between bobcats and a common prey species (deer) and with two other predators (coyotes and foxes). My analyses did not show a relationship between any of these species and bobcat presence. I also examined associations between lunar cycle and bobcat detections, as other studies have found reduced predator activity at night when the moon is brightest and prey may be most wary of nocturnal predators. Approximately 60% of bobcat detections occurred at night (N = 55 detections) but I did not find a statistically significant effect of lunar cycle on bobcat detections. Overall, these results have implications for bobcat management within the state and provide further information on interspecific associations and bobcat activity patterns in Ohio. Further research will be essential as bobcats continue to expand their species range.
Denman Undergraduate Research Forum Honorable Mention; Natural and Mathematical Sciences Poster Winner- Organismal Biology
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZDoran-Myers, DarcyExploring Rovibrational States of Floppy Molecules Using Diffusion Monte Carlohttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68954
Exploring Rovibrational States of Floppy Molecules Using Diffusion Monte Carlo
Ford, Jason
In this work, diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) methodology was extended to allow for the calculation of rotationally excited states by expansion into a functional space. This new methodology was used to study CH5+ and its deuterated isotopologues. Previous results regarding the localization of deuterium atoms within the H3 subunit are corroborated, and new results regarding the lack of change in the wavefunction upon rotational excitation up to J = 10 are shown. The method was then tested concurrently with the previously established fixed node DMC method on H2D+ and HD2+ , to determine its efficacy in capturing rovibrational coupling. This mixed method was found to produce errors up to 20 cm−1 for states with J = 2 and νasym = 1. Group theory was then used to analyze the cause of the error, and showed the exclusion of Coriolis coupling terms to likely be at fault.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZFord, JasonWhose Community Benefit?: Exclusion and Neoliberal Mentalities in Central Ohio’s Community Health Needs Assessmenthttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68948
Whose Community Benefit?: Exclusion and Neoliberal Mentalities in Central Ohio’s Community Health Needs Assessment
Ives, Todd
The tax exemption of nonprofit hospitals has been an enduring policy issue in the United States, implicating thousands of hospitals that are exempt from income, property, and sales tax on the basis that they qualify as charitable organizations. Congressional hearings on the subject of whether nonprofit hospitals actually provide an appropriate level of charitable care to their community spurred a provision to the Patient Affordable Care Act (ACA) requiring nonprofit hospitals to conduct a Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) to better engage with the community. CHNAs have potential to be an empowering mechanism for communities and individuals to voice their health problems and needs so that charitable care organizations can better cater to them. However, most public health programs aimed at improving the health of a community population are almost always accepted as scientifically objective and therefore rarely critically examined. My research situates the CHNA conducted by the Central Ohio Hospital Council within the larger context of public health discourse and programs throughout Columbus and the United States. Specifically, I position my research within the context of neoliberal public health that devolves the responsibility and outcomes of health status to the individual level. Often this conceptualization materializes with adverse effects, rendering long-standing political and cultural problems as technical problems that the individual is charged with correcting. My research critically examines the assumptions and overarching mentalities of hospital administrators and public health experts behind Central Ohio’s CHNA through analyzing programmatic documents and conducting one-on-one interviews. This research contributes to a growing interest in critical public health through examining how hospitals fill the demand to address community health.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZIves, ToddCharacterization of Hydrogenated Graphene on Copperhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68947
Characterization of Hydrogenated Graphene on Copper
Mattioli, Kara R.
Graphene is a recently discovered material comprised of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice structure. The incredible thickness of graphene, only a single layer of atoms, has resulted in it being termed a “2D” material and also gives rise to promising electronic and optical properties. However, potential uses of graphene are limited without a way to control its properties and vary them for different applications.
One way to modify the electronic properties of graphene is to hydrogenate it, which chemically bonds a layer of hydrogen atoms to its surface. When graphene is hydrogenated, it has insulating instead of semimetallic properties due to the creation of a band gap in graphene’s density of states. Changing the size of a band gap determines how insulating a material will be. The ability to fine-tune electronic properties of 2D materials is a major area of current research due to its implications for future electronic devices. Several methods exist for hydrogenating graphene, but some risk damaging the graphene and its remarkable properties. In this study, a method to hydrogenate graphene in vacuum is tested, which would be an easier method of hydrogenation and a convenient way to prepare hydrogenated graphene for further experiments in vacuum. Graphene hydrogenation was first attempted on silicon dioxide, the substrate onto which graphene is most commonly transferred after it is grown on copper. However, at the hydrogenation temperatures used in this method, chemical residue left on the graphene from the transfer process formed amorphous carbon on the graphene surface and severely distorted the graphene structure. The new method to hydrogenate graphene on copper in vacuum is tested to determine if graphene can be hydrogenated by heating it in vacuum and exposing it to molecular hydrogen. Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are used to determine whether the hydrogenations are successful. Since there are no transfer residues on graphene after it is grown on copper, this procedure prevents the formation of amorphous carbon on the graphene surface. Raman spectroscopy is a widely used method to study graphene and provides information as to how its lattice vibrations are affected by defects and chemical bonding of atoms on its surface. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) gives information about the chemical bonds that are present in a material. XPS determines whether a significant amount of carbon-hydrogen bonds are present compared to the carbon-carbon bonds that are already present in graphene. Hydrogenated graphene could be used for a broader range of experiments if it could be produced more easily and efficiently. Finding a new method of creating this novel material and optimizing its quality would further the study of its potential uses in technology as well as the current knowledge of 2D materials.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZMattioli, Kara R.The Effects of Light at Night on Lymphatic Clock Gene Expression in Siberian Hamsters (Phodopus sungorus)http://hdl.handle.net/1811/68943
The Effects of Light at Night on Lymphatic Clock Gene Expression in Siberian Hamsters (Phodopus sungorus)
Queen, Nicholas J.
Exposure to light at night can interfere with photoperiodic changes in physiology and behavior in small photoperiodic rodents. Previous studies have shown a balance between immune and reproductive function is required to maximize survival capabilities. Longer summer days are indicative of greater reproductive function, while the shorter, winter-like days yield an increase in immune function to bolster winter survival capabilities. In Siberian hamsters (Phodopus sungorus), dim light at night alters the development of the short-day, winter-like phenotype and blocks enhanced immune function. The circadian and immune systems are tightly linked, but clock gene expression in immune organs under the influence of different photoperiods is not well documented. The goal of this study was to study the photoperiodic clock gene responses in Siberian hamsters, with special attention paid to the influence of dim light at night. Animals were exposed to dim light at night under different photoperiods and clock genes were assayed in the lymph nodes and spleen to map clock gene expression with respect to photoperiod. Alterations in gene expression due to dim light at night may be indicative of humans causing ecological changes through light production and pollution.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZQueen, Nicholas J.Social factors and apolipoprotein E and angiotensin genotypes are associated with allostatic load among American Samoanshttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68942
Social factors and apolipoprotein E and angiotensin genotypes are associated with allostatic load among American Samoans
Donley, Gwendolyn
Allostasis represents biological responses to stressors across physiological systems. Allostatic load (AL) accumulates as we successfully and unsuccessfully respond to morphological, social, and environmental stressors. AL appears to be amplified by senescent processes, predisposing individuals to chronic non-communicable diseases and predicting future morbidity and mortality. Individual responses to stressors are influenced by genes, social, and environmental factors. Similarly, age, sex, and education commonly associate significantly with AL across samples. We examined genotypes at apolipoprotein E and H, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) loci and social factors in a sample of 273 American Samoans for associations with AL. Our main estimate of AL is based on seven secondary mediators of allostasis. We augment this with two additional models of AL, one including four additional aspects of body habitus and another including three aspects of glucose and lipid metabolism. We then determined if age, sex, or education and additional social factors influence associations of genotypes with AL. The apolipoprotein (apo) E 3*2 and ACE I*I genotypes were significantly associated with AL (p<.05). Neither apo H nor ANP genotypes were significantly related to AL, but sex and education were. Women showed significantly higher overall AL than men. Younger individuals (<55 years old) had higher AL than those 55 and over. Associations with education and social factors varied depending on how AL was constructed. Genotypes apparently modulate physiological dysfunction in American Samoans, likely altering risks for morbidity and mortality. However, these effects are modulated by age, sex, and social factors. Determining gene-environment-sociocultural interactions will aid understanding of how stressors lead to physiological dysregulation as assessed by AL.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZDonley, GwendolynThe Homophone Effect in Mandarin Word Recognitionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68941
The Homophone Effect in Mandarin Word Recognition
Zhou, Wei
In this study, we investigated the role of homophone density in monosyllabic word recognition in Mandarin Chinese. The experiment followed the design of Wiener and Ito (in press). We employed eye-tracking device and recorded click responses to help us understand lexical processing. Three factors were controlled in this experiment: homophone density, syllable frequency, and tonal probability of words. In Wiener and Ito,with uncontrolled homophone density, high tonal probability showed effect only in low frequency syllables, but not in high frequency syllables. In current study, what we found is that high homophone density showed the trend of slowing down recognition and affected the informativeness of tone regardless of syllable frequency.
Undergraduate Research Scholar Award
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZZhou, WeiFull of Days - A Novellahttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68938
Full of Days - A Novella
Camper, Paul
Henry and Adam approach life in different ways, choices that were deeply affected from a young age by their father's leaving. This one event both strains and strengthens the brothers' relationship due to their differing perceptions of the event. The younger Henry desires to keep close ties, for as long as he can, with the loved ones in his life, no matter what. The older Adam becomes concerned with financial stability in attempts to secure his future, mistaking certainty of one's path through life as a guarantee for happiness. Only when Henry and Adam are forced together under the least desirable of circumstances will they once again begin to understand one another.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZCamper, PaulOptimization of Direct-Write 3D Two Photon Photolithography in Poly (methyl methacrylate)http://hdl.handle.net/1811/68934
Optimization of Direct-Write 3D Two Photon Photolithography in Poly (methyl methacrylate)
Patton, Robert
Direct-write multiphoton photolithography (DWMP) is a technique which exploits the localization of multi-photon processes which occur at a tightly focused femtosecond laser to write 3D patterns in a photosensitive polymer. In conventional photolithography devices are fabricated by using masks to tailor light exposure onto photo sensitive material, developing the photoresist, and this process is driven by a single photon. DWMP differs in that the energy of at least two photons is required to reach criticality for exposure chemistry. This means that whereas traditional photolithography will polymerize a material throughout the volume of the beam, DWMP will only polymerize a material where the probability of two or more photons interacting with a molecule simultaneously is incredibly high, i.e. at the focus. This is the essential idea behind DWMP which allows arbitrary 3D shapes to be created, in contrast to traditional photolithography where devices are produced in layers with strict limitations on complexity.
DWMP also allows for the creation of very small, high resolution shapes. This is possible because of the tight laser focus which produces “voxels” (volume-pixels) of polymerized material. To zeroth order the dimensions of a voxel can be estimated by a Gaussian laser’s diffraction limit. However in the DWMP case, because two or more photons must interact at the beam waist to induce polymerization the effective volume is reduced in proportion to the number of photons required for the interaction. This reduces the effective volume further as a function of the cross-sectional intensity, allowing for voxels smaller than the diffraction limit.
The majority of DWMP work to date has used negative photoresists, in which exposed material is made less soluble. This results in solidified material where the focus was scanned and is useful for creating high resolution freeform structures. Here we explore and attempt to optimize DWMP with regards to the positive resist Poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) using short wavelength (~387 nm) light. Not only is PMMA a widely used and durable material in the biological community, but because it is a positive resist it is the exposed rather than unexposed material which is removed upon development. This property combined with the complexity allowed by DWMP should make it possible to make wells and intricate channels imbedded on all sides within a block of PMMA. Such a technique would prove useful in the creation of arbitrary microfluidic devices, as are often needed for biological research. We find that the technique is indeed viable while outlining a general method and defining future work to optimize the resolution of the process.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZPatton, RobertBlack Theatre: Cross Cultural Imageshttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68931
Black Theatre: Cross Cultural Images
Carthorn, Victoria
I will compare and illustrate the cultural differences realized in Black British Theatre as compared to African American Theatre. Black British culture is very interesting to me in that its origins are very similar to African American culture, but its development was very different from that of African American societies. These differences are directly reflected in the plays and demonstrated in the theatre produced by each group, and in their subsequent interpretation. In my research thesis I will discuss several African American plays in comparison to Black British plays which will explore the differences between the two. Theatre has always been nurtured by the culture and society that surrounds it. It is, therefore, not a surprise that plays often reflect the histories of the cultures they reside within. Black British and American Theatre are no exception. American Theatre has been dotted with many Black playwrights who have documented the history, struggles and culture of African Americans. America and Britain have had a long standing parent/child relationship throughout the past that has recently changed. The cultural exchange between American and British society in recent years has been a constant back and forth flow of information, ideas, music, arts, trade and economics. This is especially evident in the later 20th and early 21st century. However, despite this cultural exchange the experiences of Blacks in America and Blacks in Britain have been distinctly different. Historically, England abolished slavery in 1833, years before America. The relationship of African American culture and Black British culture is a strange mix. It is a dance of a close cultural exchange with a distinct separate evolution in which the two cultures separate only to join again and exchange their newly developed ideas. This exchange has been seen greatly in recent years, African American Theatre has influenced and been influenced greatly by Black British Theatre.
The Thesis was also entered in the Denman Research Formun earning 3rd place in the Arts and Architecture category.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZCarthorn, VictoriaLa Lune montante, la prétention descendante: La Nuit et la conscience intérieure dans la poésie d'Anna de Noailleshttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68929
La Lune montante, la prétention descendante: La Nuit et la conscience intérieure dans la poésie d'Anna de Noailles
Hines, Charlotte M.
This thesis investigates and examines various perspectives of night and associated concepts illustrated in the poetry of Anna de Noailles from the early twentieth century. Throughout this paper, I trace how the image of night acts as both a recurrent symbol of and a vehicle for the emergence and liberation of the individual consciousness.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZHines, Charlotte M.A place of life: On bioregionalism in East Price Hill, Cincinnatihttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68926
A place of life: On bioregionalism in East Price Hill, Cincinnati
Kendall, John
Bioregionalism has been an important theoretical framework within popular environmentalist literature for over two decades. According to this philosophy, reinhabitation of “bioregions” will commit human beings to a natural and universal knowledge of where they are, thereby holistically reconnecting them with the earth, life, and each other. Troubling, though, is the meaning of “bioregion:” from the early environmentally determinist conception of Kirkpatrick Sale to the synthesis of landscape and consciousness espoused by Peter Berg, framing a bioregion has been murky even for its most strident apologists. Even further, from its very beginnings in early Western philosophy, the more general concept of place has been discussed with no less ambiguity. Through a philosophical inquiry dating back to Aristotle, I argue that bioregions have been so difficult to define precisely because the underlying metaphysical assumption of place—as something that is unitary, clearly demarcated, and differentiated from other places—is erroneous. The texts from these philosophers, along with the bioregional practices that I investigate in East Price Hill, Cincinnati, force a coming to terms with a conception of place that is better understood as space qua difference. Place, in other words, is the process by which space is intuited, differentiated, and represented by the living human subject. But these representation that we eventually describe as “places” are not simply open to anyone's interpretation: they are the spatial manipulation of hegemony, of power settled geographically. To invoke place as such—as space qua difference—is to necessarily invoke a matrix of power that is tasked with concretizing and making universal the arrangement of different places. Hence, what I show in the case of East Price Hill is that the politics of place-based resistance, e.g. an ecovillage, always already invokes a dynamics of power—that is, Capital-Nation-State—precisely by assuming a certain metaphysics of place. To upend the geography of the modern social formation would require a new interpretation of the relation between place and space, one not based on difference but on singularity.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZKendall, JohnAn Educational Mockumentaryhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68925
An Educational Mockumentary
Stringer, Elizabeth
An Educational Mockumentary that comically highlights the day-to-day actions of a rural high school teaching staff.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZStringer, ElizabethTrans Futures: A Consideration of Transgender Youth, Transgender Visibility, and Transgender Citizenshiphttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68924
Trans Futures: A Consideration of Transgender Youth, Transgender Visibility, and Transgender Citizenship
Johnson, Ryan
This thesis is concerned with trans politics, trans visibility, and transgender citizenship. I look at this through the lens of a history of queer medicalization and resistance, the contemporary medicalization of transgender youth, and through a consideration of race and trans necropolitics wherein privileged queers and the state extract value from the social, political, economic, and physical death of trans people of color. Central to this thesis is an analysis of the “Dutch protocol” for treating gender dysphoria in children and adolescents, and a consideration of the ways in which the medical complex is a privileged and exclusionary site of producing legible transgender citizens. More generally, this thesis troubles the logics of transgender visibility and considers what is at stake in trans visibility. This thesis argues against the idea of a normative, acceptable, and visible transgender body who is able to be incorporated into the logics of a proper patriotic citizenship. Instead, I argue that trans people are not their bodies, and that one’s gender should not be necessarily discernible based on one’s body. Visibility contains normative ideas that are racialized, classed, and exclusionary, and for some, visibility is troubling, dangerous, and can be deadly. In conclusion, this thesis is concerned more broadly with claims for trans rights and trans liberation and argues that trans liberation, instead of emphasizing visibility within a national culture or privileging the medical complex as a site for producing transgender citizens, should instead be centered around deprivileging visibility and the emphasis of self-determination of one’s gender identity and expression, and more generally should operate in coalition with anti-racist, feminist, and queer politics.
Winner of the Marilyn R. Waldman Award for Best Undergraduate Essay in the Department of Comparative Studies
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZJohnson, RyanNeuronal Reprogramming via Nanochannel Electroporationhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68920
Neuronal Reprogramming via Nanochannel Electroporation
Ortiz Villabona, Cristina
A literature review of neural development and cell reprogramming gives insight into the complexity of the mechanisms that take place during differentiation. Many technologies for transfection exist, however each has its own drawbacks. Most commonly, low efficiency rates, high cytotoxicity, expensive costs, transient transfections, and high variability are disadvantages to traditional methods of transfection. The novel technology of nanochannel electroporation (NEP) solves a wide range of these issues with significantly higher efficiency rates and low cell-to-cell variability through single cell transfection. NEP done on mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) with transcription factors Brn2, Ascl1, and Myt1l (BAM) found that addition of particular patterning genes to BAM-mediated reprogramming increased induced neuron efficiency and complexity. Additionally a possible dependence on the cell cycle and a dedifferentiation to a progenitor-like stage were demonstrated during neuronal reprogramming. The results reveal a stochastic nature to BAM-mediated neuronal reprogramming, allowing for a greater understanding of cell reprogramming and its applications in regenerative medicine.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZOrtiz Villabona, CristinaEnteric Nervous System Transduction of Different AAV Serotypes Following Intravenous Injectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68919
Enteric Nervous System Transduction of Different AAV Serotypes Following Intravenous Injection
Cowley, Christopher
Functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) affect 1 in 4 Americans and are likely caused by dysfunction of the enteric nervous system (ENS). The chronic nature of FGID suggests gene therapy is a promising form of treatment and can be used to treat diseases such as Hirschrprung’s disease. In this study, we characterized transduction efficiency and distribution in the mouse myenteric plexus following intravenous (IV) injection of adeno-associated viral vectors (AAV) expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP). Neonatal (P1) mice were injected with AAV9 in the temporal vein and juvenile mice (P21) were injected in the tail vein. Mice were euthanized at 60-90 days of age, and the myenteric plexus was examined. Immunohistochemical labeling of the myenteric plexus revealed GFP presence along the entire GI tract in injected mice. Neuronal transduction ranged from 21-57% depending on vector dose and GI region analyzed. GFP co-localized with interneurons, excitatory and sensory myenteric neurons while GFP expression was absent in VIP, nNOS and glial cells. Neonate IV injections with AAV1, 5, and 6 containing GFP produced little to no transgene expression in the myenteric plexus. However, AAV8 showed significantly higher neuronal transduction compared to AAV9 injected mice. Collectively, these data demonstrate that enteric neurons are efficiently transduced by AAV8 and AAV9 following IV delivery. Thus, AAV8 and AAV9 can be used as possible treatments for ENS dysfunction by the expression of a transgene.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZCowley, ChristopherOpportunities for Social Design in Nepalhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68918
Opportunities for Social Design in Nepal
Lemon, Michael, Jr.
I studied the tools, systems, and behaviors used to preserve food in rural Nepal. Through interviews, observations, and an attempt at make tools, I sought to identify themes that could inform a sustainable, culturally contextualized understanding of how issues with food security could be addressed. Conclusions indicate that the needs of farmers are largely tied to whether or not they sell or consume most of their yields as well as the overall size of the farm plot. Additionally, preservation methods are strongly tied to cuisine and distinctive flavor profiles of traditional food. This leads me to believe that any future food security measures taken must account for culture, tradition, and custom in Nepal.
Hon. Mention at 2014 Denman Undergraduate Research Forum
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZLemon, Michael, Jr.A Quantum Gauss-Bonnet Theoremhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68917
A Quantum Gauss-Bonnet Theorem
Friesen, Taylor
In [4], Lanzat and Polyak introduced a polynomial invariant of generic curves in the plane as a quantization of Hopf’s Umlaufsatz, and showed that Arnold’s J+ invariant could be derived from their polynomial, leading to an integral formula for J+. Here we extend their invariant to the case of ho- mologically trivial generic curves in closed oriented surfaces with Riemannian metric. The resulting invariant turns out to be a quantization of a new formula for the rotation number, which can be viewed as a form of the Gauss-Bonnet Theorem. We show that J+ can be calculated from the generalized invariant when the Euler characteristic of the surface is nonzero, thereby obtaining an integral formula for J+ for homologically trivial curves in oriented surfaces with nonzero Euler characteristic.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZFriesen, TaylorMusic and Community in Jamaica: The Impact of Music Education in a Developing Nationhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68915
Music and Community in Jamaica: The Impact of Music Education in a Developing Nation
Gaal, Matthew
Throughout history, music has been used to express thoughts, emotions, and ideas that are rooted in cultural perspectives. Since Jamaica declared its independence from England in 1962, violent crime, drug trafficking, poverty, and an unstable government have plagued the country. Consequently, Jamaica perhaps has struggled to create a unified national identity separate from that of the colonial system. Music, as it is with any culture, has been an invaluable entity in helping to define the people of the once colonized nation. However, scholars point to a disconnect between the cultural music of Jamaica (e.g., ska, reggae, dance hall, et al.) and the music that is taught in the schools.
This project, which I began in January 2014 in Mandeville, Jamaica, sought to assess Jamaican music culture, evaluate public school music education, and determine the role of music education in Jamaican society. Data were collected through direct participation in Jamaican schools, community activities, and interviews. By working with the international volunteer organization Projects Abroad, I was able to teach music at a local area high school and interview nine community members with varying backgrounds about the role and importance of music and music education to them, their communities, and Jamaica as a whole. Results suggest varying opinions on the state of music education in Jamaica and the implications it has on the whole community. The Jamaican government views music as a subject that can be used to enhance math and literacy, yet many participants felt the subject matter fails to connect with the students on a personal level. Results of this study elucidate music education at an international level and show the importance of culturally relevant music education.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZGaal, MatthewLooking for the dM in sdB+dM Systemshttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68914
Looking for the dM in sdB+dM Systems
Hartman, Zachary
We report eclipse timings and optical/infrared photometry of a sample of binary stars that include low-mass, nondegenerate stars, some of which are post-common envelope (PCE) secondary companions to hot subdwarf B (sdB) stars. We model the reflection effect in the later systems to characterize the temperature of the heated hemisphere of the secondaries, first from blackbody fits and then by comparison to libraries of the spectral energy distribution of dwarf M stars. We explore how consistent our phenomenological results are with the properties inferred from analysis of light curve shapes. Currently, the masses of these low-mass stars are unknown. We discuss the prospects for turning these reflection effect systems into double-lined spectroscopic binaries for characterization of the mass-radius relationship of low-mass PCE secondaries.
Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Research Scholarship
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZHartman, ZacharyDo Only The Eyes Have It? Predicting Subsequent Memory with Simultaneous Neural and Pupillometry Datahttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68913
Do Only The Eyes Have It? Predicting Subsequent Memory with Simultaneous Neural and Pupillometry Data
Cody, Sean
There are multiple physiological measurements that can predict successful encoding of a stimulus that can be retrieved from memory later, often referred to as a subsequent memory effects (SMEs). An event related potential (ERP) is a change in EEG signal, positive or negative, that is temporally related to an event. A late positive component (LPC), a positive signal in the parietal region, is predictive of successful memory formation (Mangels et al., 2001). A pupil response (PR) during encoding, measured as the maximum deflection in pupil size after stimulus onset, is an analogue to activity of the locus coeruleus (LC) -- a subcortical brain structure that controls the release of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine (NE)-- and also predicts successful episodic memory formation. To measure the extent to which these two potential correlates of successful memory formation overlap, we examined data from both of these sources while participants were auditorily presented with lists of common nouns, as well as when they were later tested on their recognition of those items. For ERP we found a trend towards a late positive component (LPC) in the parietal region, but it did not achieve significance. PR during encoding showed the beginning of an increase in positive response for stimuli that were later remembered, but the signal recorded did not extend the entire duration of the time period predicted for the effect and also failed to achieve significance.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZCody, SeanAssessments Used by Indian Speech-Language Pathologists for Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorderhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68912
Assessments Used by Indian Speech-Language Pathologists for Patients with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Boland, Josephine
Based on Deshmukh and McCauley’s 2010 survey of Indian speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and their management of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), this study’s objective was to examine the assessment methods, training, characteristics, and client base of such SLPs. A 51-item online survey, created for another study re-examining Deshmukh and McCauley’s topic, was used; however, only 12 of the items were utilized for the purposes of this current study. Participants were invited through the Indian Speech and Hearing Association’s (ISHA) email list. Data from 26 respondents located in 4 different Indian states were used. The majority of the respondents were new SLPs, new to ASD, and had received a varied amount of academic training regarding ASD. About half of the SLPs were not permitted to diagnose ASD. Most of their assessment instruments were in English and had been developed in the West. Since the 2010 study, there has been a decrease in the number of academic courses about ASD and the number of SLPs diagnosing ASD. Previously, the SLP was the most frequent diagnostician, but now that role mostly belongs to clinical psychologists. The number of clients with confirmed ASD seems to have increased and it also seems that many of the assessments have not been adjusted linguistically for them. Future research might examine the existence of any cultural adjustments for the assessments that have been made to accommodate Indian clients with ASD.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZBoland, JosephinePostpartum administration of Citalopram reverses gestational stress-induced depressive-like behavior and structural modifications in the reward pathwayhttp://hdl.handle.net/1811/68911
Postpartum administration of Citalopram reverses gestational stress-induced depressive-like behavior and structural modifications in the reward pathway
Sherer, Morgan
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common complication following childbirth experienced by approximately 20% of new mothers. We have previously shown that chronic gestational stress, a risk factor for PPD, induces depressive-like behavior in postpartum rats and impairs maternal care, a rewarding, motivated behavior. These behavioral consequences of gestational stress are accompanied by structural changes on neurons in the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a key brain region in the reward pathway which is involved in maternal care and which has been implicated in PPD. Here, we extended our previous work in two experiments. First, we examined the effects of gestational stress on other reward-related behaviors known to be altered in mothers with postpartum depression including anhedonia (as assessed with the sucrose preference test) and maternal motivation (as assessed with the conditioned place preference paradigm). Second, because mothers diagnosed with PPD are often prescribed selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) antidepressants to ameliorate mood and other deleterious effects of PPD, we investigated the extent to which the SSRI Citalopram could reverse stress-induced depressive-like behavior and morphological changes in the NAc. Our results show that along with increased depressive-like behavior, postpartum females exposed to chronic stress during pregnancy (from GD7-GD20) exhibited anhedonia, deficits in maternal motivation as well as structural modifications in the NAc. We also found that postpartum administration of Citalopram was able to reverse the depressive-like behavior and the structural modifications in the NAc of gestationally stressed mothers. Overall, our results demonstrate that gestational stress induces numerous behavioral symptoms found in depressed mothers and that depressive-like behavior in gestationally stressed mothers is responsive to antidepressant treatment. In doing so, these results expand the validity of our gestational stress model and suggest that structural plasticity in the NAc pathway may play a critical role in mediating depressive-like behavior in PPD.
2015-05-01T00:00:00ZSherer, Morgan